Acting now for a better Europe: Commission
brings forward its 2009 work programme

The European Commission has adopted today its 2009
Legislative and Work Programme which announces the main initiatives it intends
to present next year. In 2009, the Commission will follow up on the initiatives
launched in recent weeks to address the financial crisis and to set out a
European framework to address the economic downturn. At the same time, the
Commission will use the final year of its mandate to complete the work already
under way.

Commission President José Manuel Barroso said, "Today we are proposing
an ambitious calendar of work for 2009. We will seek to consolidate the
achievements of the last four years by maintaining the focus on delivering
results for European citizens and businesses. The Commission will prioritise its
work to lead the response to the financial crisis and tackle the issues of
concern to citizens like climate change, migration and development so that
Europe can continue to shape the effects of globalisation".

The 2009 Work Programme needs to respond to different challenges: on the one
hand, 2009 will be a special year marked by the European elections in June, as
well as the last year of this Commission's mandate, with the emphasis on
implementing the vision set out earlier by the Commission in areas like energy,
climate change, migration and social policy. At the same time, the Commission is
at the forefront of work to address the financial and crisis and the economic
downturn. The result is a focused and balanced Work programme with 12 strategic
initiatives, 37 priority initiatives, 33 simplification proposals and 20
withdrawals.

The priorities are structured around 4 pillars:

On Growth and Jobs, the Commission will focus on economic reform and
specific measures aiming at rebuilding confidence to help Europe deal with the
economic and financial crisis, through the work of the renewed Lisbon Strategy
and the framework for recovery presented last week. Proposals will be made in
the area of financial markets and financial supervision, including a response to
the experts group chaired by Jacques de Larosière.

On Climate Change and Sustainable Europe, getting a successful
agreement at the Copenhagen meeting will be a major global challenge. The
foundation stone for EU leadership is agreement on the energy and climate change
package: with agreement in December, in 2009 the emphasis can shift to
implementation.

Many measures will continue the work of the Commission to target action
directly on citizens. This will include specific action to help citizens
as consumers, and a major new direction for policies on freedom, security and
justice. In this area, the fight against terrorism and organised crime will be a
particular focus.

Internationally, the Commission will face up to challenges from
support for Georgia's reconstruction and reform efforts to adapting
transatlantic relations to the new administration. Enlargement, the
neighbourhood, and world trade will remain key priorities.

A major
highlight in 2009 will be the presentation of the Budget Review, an
important contribution to the debate on the shape of the future priorities of
the Union and their financing. This will be a key part of the legacy of this
Commission.

Promoting a simpler and better regulatory environment without
unnecessary administrative burdens remains a key priority of the Commission's
legislative work in 2009, and the programme sets out specific measures on
simplification, covering areas from agriculture to environment and from
accounting to transport, as well as on the withdrawal of pending proposals.

2009 will be the first year that inter-institutional communication
priorities will be agreed by the Council of Ministers, the European
Parliament and the Commission under the joint declaration on Communicating
Europe in Partnership.